


You're Something Special, Jim

by Drabble_By_Ash



Series: Picturesque Pinata Island [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, OKAY LISTEN, Pre-Relationship, hear me out on this one, viva pinata au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2020-03-13 10:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18938710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drabble_By_Ash/pseuds/Drabble_By_Ash
Summary: It was warm as he watched the boat slip back into the sea, the white sails fluttering carelessly as the wind pulled it farther and farther away. Each moment made his heart sink. He wasn’t supposed to be here, not really. It was one island too soon, and now he was stuck somewhere completely new.And that was just the start of it all.





	1. Chapter 1

It was warm as he watched the boat slip back into the sea, the white sails fluttering carelessly as the wind pulled it farther and farther away. Each moment made his heart sink. He wasn’t supposed to be here, not really. It was one island too soon, and now he was stuck somewhere completely new. 

It’d be worse if he actually cared. 

But it was what he wanted, wasn’t it? Something exciting and new, something so far from home that it felt like a whole different world. And with the bright sun and the clear waters, it certainly felt different. It was warmer then he was used to. The frigid lands to the north, the land he was born to, never seemed to heat up. It was cold winter after cold winter and he hated it. 

The sun felt so alive.

But he couldn’t enjoy it fully. He was still lost, and the job prospect he was chasing drifted steadily into the unfamiliar ocean. He had no where to stay, and very little money to accomplish anything. The few gold coins in his pocket felt hauntingly light. 

He started walking, if only because the reflected light on the water was too much to look at. And he maybe regretted it, just a little, as the sinking feeling got worse. Looking into the island was a whole new thing altogether. 

There was no doubt in his mind that this was a massive chunk of land. It was almost like he could walk and walk and walk forever and still never see the other side. Sometimes, you just know. And it was lush, with plants scattered in every free green space, growing wild and free. The trees were huge, with strange, wide leaves and spiraling designs in their bark. He couldn’t tell if they were carved, or if they grew that way.

And there were flowers, more types then he could name. Gentle buds, raising their soft pastel petals to the sky to drink up the light. Strong stalks with open leaves and fierce colors, standing tall against their daintier kind. And wild grasses and tall strong trees, and more fruit than anyone could possibly ever eat. A paradise, he couldn’t help but think. 

He didn’t know much about this island, but then again, no one really did. It was a huge mark on his map, and yet none of the sailors could tell him anything. “It’s strange,” they would offer with the slightest of discomfort. “The animals are almost as strange as the people who live there, if you can find anyone.” And when pressed, they would mumble something about masks and hurry back to work.

There hadn’t been anyone at the docks to greet him. He’d disembarked into a vacant world, with only the sounds of distant animals to welcome him. It felt empty, even as he followed the vague road inland. But there had to be someone heading his way at some point. There wasn’t just a completely uninhabited island just for ships to dock at and unload inattentive passengers, right?

Finally, he broke the tree line. After an hour of walking, the path opened up and he stared out into what must have been a town center. It was small, and dirty, and the buildings dotting the main road were shabby at best. But even under the weather and the grime, he could see bright colors and detailed patterns on every surface. There had been life there at one time. 

No one was out as he wandered through the town, looking between all the closed down shops and empty houses. Occasionally, he swore he saw someone moving inside, but then again, it could have been a trick of the light. He very well could have been standing in the middle of a ghost town, and his heart dropped. If there was no one here, then there was no one to help him figure out just what the hell he was supposed to do now. 

Reaching the end of the row, he finally said “fuck it” and tried his luck. The very last building, painted some formally bright shades of yellow and orange, at least had the decency of a sign. “Geoff’s farming and mercantile.” And just below that, “open.” He took a breath, and he pushed it, startling slightly at the small chime of a bell. 

The face that looked up at him was nothing like what he was expecting. Mainly because it was a bird, and suddenly all those mumbled mask warnings made sense. It had to be a crow of some sorts, dark purple and a wicked beak. The mask had to have been homemade, but it wasn’t cheap. There was genuine care in its crafting and Jack stared wordlessly until he heard a chuckling coming from behind it. 

“You doin’ alright there pal?” The man asked, and somewhere behind the feathers, he thought he saw a flash of sleepy blue grey eyes. 

“I’m, uh. I’m looking for the inn.” He stammered, pointing hesitantly back over his shoulder. “If you could just point me in the right direction...?” He trailed off, and the man behind the sales counter didn’t so much as move. 

“Don’t have one.”

“What?”

He shook his big bird head. “We don’t have an inn, haven't for a while now. Not exactly the hottest destination spot, so we’ve never really needed it.”

Jack stared down at his tired feet a moment, letting the newest wave of disappointment roll over him. God he should have just stayed in bed that morning. 

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” The masked man asked, leaning carelessly on one elbow. Even his clothes were strange. Sleeves down to his wrists despite the heat, and faint patterns dotting the fabric. It was something so opposite from the warm furs and wool that Jack was used to seeing back home. 

“Obviously,” he snorted mirthlessly. 

“Tell me, what brought you here?”

“A ship.” He replied, and then decided fuck it again. “It’s the wrong stop actually. I just need somewhere to stay until the next ship comes through.”

The man at the countered nodded. “You’ll be waiting a while, unless you keep going. This end of the island doesn’t get stopped at but every few months.”

“Months?”

“Yup,” he popped the ‘p’ loudly. “Try the southern coast of you want. They’re supposed to be more popular, according to Gavvers.”

Jack stared back out the window at the deserted street. “I can’t wait that long. And I can’t just keep walking. I need to stop and figure some things out. Like a house and a job and-”

“Then don’t.” The man interrupted and Jack stared helplessly at him. “Don’t wait for a ship and don’t keep walking.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do then?”

Those must have been the magic words, because the man’s previously uninterested posture shifted dramatically. He moved around to stand in front of Jack, nearly tripling in his excitement. And when he spoke, he sounded full of life suddenly. “Jim. Can I call you Jim?”

“It’s Jack actually.”

“Of course. Now Jim, what do you know about gardening?”

Jack blinked at him. Gardening? Like growing flowers and shit? He knew some bare-bones essentials about farming, had to to survive and all that. But who had time to learn gardening when there was so much else to do? “Excuse you?”

“Come on, gardening. Raising piñatas, growing rare and spectacular plants, and becoming one with the land.”

“Piñatas?”

“Yeah. Cute little fuckers. Like normal animals but full of candy and all that. Keep up here Jim.”

“What the fuck are you even talking about?” Jack took a step back, looking quickly to the door. It was just a few steps behind him. If he were quick, he could get out before things got weirder. Piñatas and gardening and-

“I’m talking about a job, Jim”

And wait just a minute. “Jack.”

“Yeah yeah.” He was waved off before the man started in again. “Alright, we’ve each got a problem here. You’re on track to being homeless in one of the strangest places on the planet.” Understatement. “And I’ve got this one tiny little thing I need dealt with.”

He knew he should leave. He shouldn’t be talking to some strange store owner he didn’t even know about a job doing god knows what. And he certainly shouldn’t be encouraging any of it either. But he couldn’t help it. He needed something, anything, even for just the couple months it took until another ship came to take him far far away from here. 

“Here’s the deal. My dad, bless his heart, left me this garden. Wonderful place. He could grow damn near anything there, and not a single goddamn piñata didn’t want to live there. But I’m not the most adept gardener myself, and I’ve got this little shop here, and that’s more than enough for me.”

And it wasn’t a bad little shop, Jack had to admit. There was stock everywhere, crates and boxes practically overflowing with bags of seed and fertilizer. There were bits of fencing and stones and some statues peeking out of the back room. 

He continued. “But the land needs someone, and that someone is you.”

“Me?” He asked incredulously. 

“You’re something special Jim,” he declared, something very warm in his voice and the way he leaned into the conversation. And god were those grey eyes just alight with passion. There was just one thing though. 

“Now that’s bullshit.” It was so immediate that the man recoiled, blinking owlishly back at him. “You don’t know me. My name isn’t fucking Jim. And I don’t know the first goddamn thing about gardening or whatever the hell it is.”

“I can teach you!” He was quick to counter, practically jumping to his point. “My dad had tons of these journals written on all this crap. I can be your mentors while you learn the ropes!”

Still, he wasn’t quite convinced. “You’ll have to do better than that. I’m sorry.”

There was no one in hell he was going to agree to that. He wasn’t experienced in gardening or anything. He wasn’t familiar with the area. Hell, he didn’t even know the name of the guy he was talking to! It would take so much more convincing to make him just give in that easily and-

“It’s got a house you can have.”

“Deal.”


	2. Chapter 2

“So what exactly is a piñata?”

They were walking, the sky darkening slightly around them as the evening wore on. He’d stayed for an early lunch at Geoff’s, huddled around a rickety table in the living space upstairs. It’d been nice, and they hadn’t brought up the garden any more. Just talked about easy things: the weather, the boat ride over, and what all Geoff sold at his shop. Everything, Jack quickly learned. There wasn’t anything he didn’t sell or couldn’t get a hold of in a timely manner.

Geoff glances over, eyes lazy and relaxed as he regarded Jack. “You really don’t know?”

“I mean, I know what a piñata is. I just don’t understand why you need an entire garden dedicated to them,” Jack shrugged, stealing sideways glances at the man next to him. Even after dinner, Geoff was strange. It had to be the mask really. He’d only lifted it enough to eat, and it’s gone right back into place afterwards. And he was left wondering if that was an island thing, or just a Geoff thing. Either wouldn’t have surprised him much. 

The other man paused, turned to stare at Jack, head cocked to the side like a puppy. “Where else would you put them?”

“Fucking, storage I guess. I’ve never had one.”

He laughed behind his mask, fucking even raised a hand to stifle it, however pointless that may have been. And god, Jack wished he wasn’t wearing that fucking thing so he could watch him smile. Sue him; it sounded cute.

“You’re shitting me. You need room for them to move around, you know? Stretch their little legs and whatnot. Can’t do that in the closet.”

And that just made him stop walking altogether, frozen in the middle on some shitty, worn out path. “What the fuck do you mean ‘move around’?”

“Fuck, you really are new to all this, aren’t you.” He chuckled again, shaking his head slightly. “Piñata have to have so much room or they’ll start getting depressed. Depressed piñata aren’t any good, and you’ll spend more time trying to keep them from leaving then you will enjoying their company. Plus, they’re not gonna be worth shit, so you can’t send them off to parties and crap. No parties equal no pay.” 

No.

Nope.

Nothing about that was right. Nothing was right because-

“You know piñata aren’t alive, right?”

Now Geoff was the one staring, arms lax by his sides. It was like Jack had suddenly grown three heads or something. But that shouldn’t have been crazy, since he apparently thought  _ inanimate paper mache creatures full of candy _ were capable of higher function! That made perfect sense. Nothing crazy about that!

Jack should have stayed on the fucking boat.

“What do you mean they aren’t alive?” His voice was quiet, disbelieving.

“We’re talking about candy-filled animals you see at parties, yeah? The thing you break open with a stick and-“

That must have hit something, because Geoff was suddenly shouting. “You do what?!?”

Jack blinked owlishly at him, took a step back. It wasn’t too far from the village. Maybe someone there had a little more sense, didn’t hallucinate magic home décor or something. Fuck, even staying at the docks and hoping against hope that another ship came by soon seemed better. Hadn’t he said something about a busier port down south? How long could it realistically take to get there? 

And because he was dumb, and apparently didn’t think before speaking, he mumbled “Break them open with sticks?”

“Holy shit, you have to be fucking with me.” He was quiet again, but his shoulders were tense, and there was practically steam coming out of the sides of his mask. “I don’t know what fucked up things are happening where you’re from, but here, we don’t break anything open with goddamn sticks. Piñata are like pets dude.”

“But they aren’t alive Geoff!” He retorted, easy voice rising to match Geoff’s anger. “They’re not pets. They don’t feel anything because they’re fucking paper!”

Apparently that was it. Geoff strode forward with powerful, heavy steps and all but started to drag Jack by the wrist. Stumbling after him, he tried to get anything through that thick skull of his. This wasn’t real .This didn’t make any sense. Holy shit he was gonna fucking die and  _ no one would know where the fuck to even start looking for him, oh fuck- _

“I don’t know what kind of fucked up shit you have back home,” he said loudly, tossing Jack forward against a rotten wood fence. Clumsily, he caught himself, and when he looked up he gasped.

It wasn’t much, just patches of dead grass and cracked dirt. Scattered around were small pieces of fencing, some haphazard attempt at making pens. There was a tree struggling to grow in the far corner, skinny as a rail and half-dead in the sunset. Wildflowers and weeds were moving in around a stagnant pond, and the whole thing just looked so sad.

But that wasn’t what he was staring at. No, what had caught his eye when he looked up was very much impossible and very much staring right back at him.

It was a bunny. A very blue bunny. Clearly made of thick paper.

Because it was a piñata.

Geoff moved around him, knelt down and held out his hand. The bunny ran straight up to him, no fear in its large, round eyes. It made a noise- something like a trilling sound- and bounded up into his arms. And he cradled them, running his hand down its ears as he petted it. It just kept wiggling, thrilled to bits to be in someone’s arms.

The crow mask looked back up at him, feather tips alight in the warm setting sun. And there were so many other hues there he’d missed- dark blues and pinks and so many more shades of purple mixed together that it all seemed so unreal. Because he had to be dreaming right? This was all some crazy dream and he’d wake up back home any minute now. Back to the cold and the dull and the monotony of it all. Back to the plain and simple and complete uneventful.

But Geoff spoke again, soft and sweet and Jack stared up at him like he was the only person on Earth. In that moment, he would have believed it. “This is Piñata Island Jack. And these creatures,” he scratched behind the bunny’s ear again and it trilled, high and happy and Jack could already feel himself falling under its charming little spell. “Are very much alive and very much ready for someone to take care of them.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for clarification, because I'm not sure how many people are familiar with a game from 2006.
> 
> This is based on loosely based on the Viva Pinata video game. You raise pinata. And grow plants. And it's real fucking cute and mindless and I've been playing it off and on most of my life. 
> 
> I don't know how to explain it, but I'll do my best to make it make sense in the story.


	3. Chapter 3

That first night was strange, to say the least. But then again, the whole damn day had been weird. The house was just a little cottage, small and stout and dusty as hell on the inside. But it was furnished, which was always a good thing. Two sparsely decorated bedrooms, a small kitchen, an impossibly tiny bathroom, and a living room that was pretty much just a couch smashed into a corner. But it was fine; it was more then he’d brought along. He barely had enough clothes to fill the dresser drawers, and there was only a handful of things to hang in the closet.

The bunny-  _ bunnycomb _ , Geoff corrected- followed him inside. It wasn’t skittish at all, not like the floppy-eared rabbits they had back home. It hopped around, sniffed every little thing it could get at, and Jack just didn’t know what to do with it. Did it eat? Did it need a bed? Geoff hadn’t stayed long enough to answer any questions, just gave him a confident pat on the back and told him he’d see him in the morning. 

So he stared at it from the doorway as it nosed the musty blanket on the couch. There was no denying it; this little creature was alive. Alive and adorable and surprisingly soft for being made of paper. He moved slowly, not wanting to disturb the poor thing, as he got ready for bed. He needed to sleep. He needed a break from the weird for just two seconds and then tomorrow he could try to make sense of it all.

Piñata were alive and he’d taken a job from a complete stranger.

His parents would kill him if they knew. But they’d kill him anyway for leaving. And it’s not like he was a child anymore! He was a grown man dammit, and they can’t have expected him to stick around forever, right? He was a grown man who was going against every logical thought flitting through his head.

It was kind of fun though, when he really thought about it. Because as hard as it was to believe, there was no denying the things he saw. And that was just the start, wasn’t it? There were more piñata to catch, according to Geoff. And there was an entire garden to turn into their home. It was fun to do something crazy, spontaneous. It was the same thrill he’d felt when he left home, set sail on the high seas for something new. 

He could look out of the window from his bed, watched the moon climb higher into the star-speckled sky. At least that was familiar. At least he could look out and see that and know it was the same moon he’d always seen, all the same stars. He wondered if everyone far from home thought the same thing. He fell asleep without realizing it, and he slept hard. Hard enough that he didn’t notice the door he left ajar crack open, and a little blue bunny come bouncing in. And he didn’t stir as it jumped right up next to him, curling up to sleep against his side.

He did hear the banging, and startled awake to find morning light streaming across the room. The bunnycomb jolted next to him, and he reached over without thinking to scoop it into his arms. Something banged again, and it took an embarrassingly long time for Jack to realize it was his front door.  _ Geoff, right. _ And apparently he waited too long, because when he peeked his head out of the bedroom door, his masked friend was already digging around his kitchen.

“Geoff.”

“Oh good, you’re awake!” He smiled, or at least, it sounded like a smile in his voice.

“You’re in my house.”

Geoff ignored him, choosing instead to look dramatically in a cabinet. “You know you’ve got no food right?”

“Dude, what time is it?”

The other man sighed. “Late enough that everyone else is up and working. You’re on island time now Jack, you need to learn to adjust.”

It was too early for this. He was sleep-rumpled, starving, and there was a bunny making a nest in his beard. He sighed, handed the bunnycomb over to Geoff, and went straight back into his room. The other man sputtered as the door closed in his face, whining his name on the other side. But he ignored him, and he took his time getting ready for the day. A quick shower, a new set of clothes, and a few moments of peace before going back into it all.              

Geoff had moved to the couch, running gentle fingers over the bunny’s ears. It trilled softly in his lap, content and happy. He looked surprisingly similar to yesterday, still wearing the same mask, and his clothes were still long despite the temperature outside. Jack wondered if that was just the style, bright colors and long sleeves and patterns on nearly every fabric. And again, he couldn’t help but think it was so very different from the warm, sturdy clothes he sported. Given how hot it was already, he’d need a wardrobe change eventually. He’d overheat quickly if he wasn’t careful.

“Alright, first things first. You can’t just barge into my house whenever you feel like it. It’s just weird.”

Geoff tilted his head, and god dammit! Could he not take the fucking mask off and let Jack see his face? It was so damn weird talking to someone when you couldn’t see the expression on their face. “I mean, it’s technically my place, but sure. I’ll wait longer next time.”

Jack sighed, ran a hand through his beard. “You said something about food?”

“I said you had fuck all in here.” He paused, seemed to consider what he’d said for a moment. “I mean duh. You just moved in. We can head back to my place and get something real quick, before we really get into this garden stuff.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” Jack held up a hand to stop him from getting up. “I don’t really feel like taking a walk this early. We can get started here, and I’ll let you know when I’m ready for a break.”

Geoff nodded, the feathers on his head rustling slightly. “Next time I’ll bring a basket or something. We’ll get you set up real nice and pretty up here.” Sleepy blue grey eyes scanned the room, surprisingly bright against the rich colors of the mask. He contemplated the room, lingered on the sparse decorations. Simple things, like faded pictures and a couple of old medals and ribbons, dotted the walls, broke up the monotony just a little. And there was a map hung up above the couch, presumably of the entire island. Most of it looked to be wild land, thick forests and tall mountains, even a little desert tucked away. A climate unique to the island. 

“You know,” he started, never letting his eyes rest of Jack, “this place used to look good.”

“The house?”

“The whole place. Dad was good at this stuff.” He looked down at his hands slowly working over the bunnycomb snoozing in his lap. They stilled, and Jack watched him carefully. There wasn’t the same manic energy in his voice anymore, replaced instead with something serious. Something sad. “Everything really just went to shit after he left.” 

It suddenly felt too strange to stand across the room from him. Tentatively, Jack moved forward, sat himself next to Geoff on the couch. It seemed too small for the two of them, strangers that they were. And yet it was maybe the one thing that wasn’t weird about the whole situation. It was familiar, in the way something is when it’s just meant to be. 

Absent-mindedly, he ran a gentle hand down the bunnycomb’s face. “Left?”

If the closeness bothered Geoff any, he didn’t show it, just kept running tender hands down the bunnycomb’s back. “I guess maybe you could say he retired? Just fucking up and left one day. Set sail and never came back.”

“Shit. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m sure he’ll be back one day and chew me out for letting things go the way they did.”

The bunny roused slightly, shifted an inch or two closer to Jack, spread across the two men’s laps. “Why didn’t you take over? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

Geoff shrugged. “I never wanted to, I guess.” He looked around again, almost glaring at the walls around him. “I spent my whole childhood building this place up for him. Never got a goddamn day to myself.” And then he looked at Jack finally, and those eyes were so startling up close. Blue and grey swirled together beautiful, and nearly overflowing with life. “Like hell is he gonna boss me around when he didn’t even stick around.”

Jack didn’t know what to say, too caught up in memorizing the little details around Geoff’s eyes. Up close, when he could see little bits of pale skin peeking out of the eyeholes, he really didn’t seem that strange. Just a normal guy, disappointed in his parents, unhappy with where his life had been taking him. Jack could relate. There was no way he wanted to fall into the same life his parent’s had, not when there was so much still to experience in the world. Not when places like this existed. 

“What about you?”

“What?” Jack asked, blinking as he came back to himself a little bit. If Geoff had a problem with the staring, he didn’t mention it. 

“You left home, didn’t you? Why?”

It was his turn to shrug, to look down at the creature in his lap. He stroked its long ears. “There just wasn’t anything there for me.” And because it was early, and things sort of felt like a dream, and he felt very honest, he asked “do you ever feel like you’re not in the right place, even if that place is home?”

“It’s not home then,” he answered easily, watching Jack with those inquisitive eyes of his. 

He nodded, looked back up and the morning was just so soft around him. “I went looking for home.”

Geoff nodded, a smile in his eyes as he replied. “I hope you find it.”

“Are you home?” Jack asked before his mind processed the words. But the other man didn’t seem to mind, and they were both maybe a little too honest for just having met yesterday. But the man next to him felt comfortable, like they were meant to be here, like they were always meant to exist in the same space. Something settled deep inside him, a calm little spot that he clung to eagerly.

“Maybe.” 

“You don’t know?”

He laughed when he spoke. “Can you ever?”

He thought about it a moment, thought about how home had never felt right. How he’d never felt right. How sitting on a dusty couch, talking to a person he barely knew, with a paper bunny sprawled between them felt like  _ something _ . He just didn’t know what yet. There was something there, just out of reach, and he wanted to chase it down. Once he got it, he’d know. 

“I think maybe I’d feel it, you know?”

Geoff nodded, petted the bunnycomb again, his hand just a hair away from Jack’s. There were tattoos covering his skin, much like the patterns on his clothes. Part of Jack knew that was just a Geoff thing. “I guess maybe I’m not home yet. But I don’t wanna be anywhere else.” He smiled, eyes crinkling, and everything felt so very right in that moment. He continued, his voice soft and sincere. “Maybe I’m waiting for something to happen. Then it’ll be home.” 


	4. Chapter 4

They started with the basics. Running a garden shouldn’t be too hard when he thought about it. There was a ton of cleaning that needed to be done, lots of things to rebuild and regrow before anything. It’d take a minute to clear out the old fencing, and the plants needed a lot of help to get back to what they were supposed to be. The bunnycomb dozed under the skinny little tree, dappled shadows keeping the worst of the sun from it. Jack couldn’t help but steal glances over, making sure his little buddy was safe. It felt too exposed without a proper fence around the place.

He could already imagine what the land could look like if he build it up right. Plenty of room for neat little flower beds, even rows of vegetables, with nice strong trees filling space. A white fence, with a cute little gate right by the house, and another by the road. Poppies and daisies, bright and happy. Maybe even a little pond in the back corner, somewhere nice to dip his feet when it got too hot.

First things first though.

“The grass will need some fixing up, but I’ve got seeds for that back at my place,” Geoff told him as the two paced the plot of land. “Even the easiest to please piñata will want at least a little good grass.”

And that was another thing. “What do you mean by ‘easiest to please’?”

Geoff chuckled, and Jack could feel his ears burn. He was new at this. Sue him. The masked man continued though, his lazy voice pitched high, like he were talking to a child. “So the entire point of a garden is to raise piñata. But to do that, what do you need to do first?”

Jack blinked back at him. “Catch them?”

“Exactly!” And that earned him a pat on the shoulder. He shoved Geoff off, just to the side of playful, and the other man laughed despite how he nearly fell over. “And to catch them, you gotta have something they want. Give them that, and they’ll move right the fuck in.”

“But how am I supposed to know what they want?”

“Because you have me, dumbass!” There was that smile again, the corners of his eyes crinkling with delight. “And I happen to have the biggest collection of piñata facts on this side of the island. Dad wrote everything he learned in his journals, and you’re more than welcome to have them. God knows I don’t want them.”

Nodding, he made a mental note to check out if the spare room had a bookshelf or something to put them on. It’d make a decent office, he figured, since he really didn’t plan on hosting guests anytime soon. As it stood, Geoff Ramsey was the only living person on the island to him. Hopefully, he could remedy that, make some (ideally sane) friends while he stayed there. Otherwise, the next couple weeks would be boring as hell.

“So what sort of things do piñata like?”

“Seeds, fruits, veggies, other piñatas. Some want big ponds, or lots of trees. It all depends on what you want to have around the place.” The masked man spun around suddenly, clumsily walked backwards a bit while he pointed back towards the tree. “Take your bunnycomb for instance.” The little blue bunny was still dozing, ears twitching while it slept. “That little guy wanted carrots. So I grew some carrots, and he came hopping along. Got his munch on and decided to take up residency here.”

Easy enough to manage, Jack thought. Especially if he decided to keep things simple, which he fully intended to do. Nothing crazy, nothing dangerous. Just maybe a farm full of softly snoring bunnies. It was all temporary, after all. As soon as the boat came back, he was going back to bigger and better things.

There was another question though.

“And the whole point is to…?”

Geoff shrugged. “Raise happy piñata and send them off to Central.”

“Central?”

“It’s the big city here on the island. They want happy piñata, nice and full of candy. That’s where you come in. They’ll send in orders once you get yourself established here, and then it’s all about filling those up.”

“And I get what out of this?” Because he certainly didn’t want to do all this for free. Or, well, it seemed fun enough. And he had to admit, there was something exciting about building up a garden from practically the ground up. Maybe he would do that just for the hell of it. But it would drain his pockets in no time. Cost of fencing and materials, of seeds and feeds and all that. He couldn’t exactly expect to pay for it all with the little change he had in his pockets.

“A sense of accomplishment?”

The look on Jack’s face was perhaps less than enthusiastic.

“And money, you greedy bastard.”

Alright, easy. Raise piñata, send them to Central when they’re big and happy, and reap the rewards. Makes sense. “So is everyone around here a gardener?”

“Surprisingly no.” And Geoff sounded rather sheepish. “You’re the only one.”

“What?”

The other man stopped walking, stared out across the garden.  “Most people around here run the shops in town. Business is real slow right now, especially since most of our stuff is geared towards gardeners. And there hasn’t been a real gardener here since Dad left.” He was quiet, and there was something in his voice Jack tried to pick out. Guilt maybe? “We’ve been shipping a lot of things to the city lately, and I think a couple of people are thinking about moving on.”

“Oh shit.”                                                                                 

He nodded in agreement. “Shit indeed.” And then he sighed, long and heavy. “Having the garden up and running again is good for the whole community, not just for me. I’ve been trying to get this thing sorted for a long time, but you’re the first person to even think about taking over.”

Which made sense, considering his sales pitch involved flagging down a random stranger and offering to give him the job out of nowhere. Still, it made a little part of his heart ache. The garden was in such disrepair that it had to have been left alone for so long. Business can’t have been doing well. And Geoff can’t have been doing well either. He couldn’t help but wonder how much of that manic energy he exuded was just an act.

“So I need to start a garden to save the town.” No pressure there.

“Don’t think of it that way,” Geoff was quick to assure him. “You do your work, and the town will do theirs.”

He nodded, partly because he couldn’t think of anything to say. There was a lot of pressure there, even if Geoff said there wasn’t. Damn his heart. He couldn't help but wonder, if he really does get this place cleaned up and working, what would happen when he leaves? Surely Geoff would realize he didn’t intend to stay forever, and he’d try to find someone to take over after this. Someone who would have a much easier start than himself.

But Geoff didn’t seem to mind his lack of verbal response. He kept talking, maybe a little bit nervously, like the silence was just a little too much right now. “That being said, we don’t have a lot of services to help you out right now. Gavin and Ryan are both out right now, probably be a couple days before either one shows up again. Jeremy’s working on a project, so he’s locked himself up someplace, doubt he’ll come out until someone drags him. Trevor’s at Central, and I think Fiona went with him.”

“I don’t know who any of those people are.”

“You’ll meet them in time.” And he waved him off again as he cleared his throat. When he spoke again, it was with the same happy energy he’d had earlier. “For now, I think I’ve got everything you need. Speaking of, I brought some start up supplies.”

No one would say that Geoff was the most organized, and Jack was starting to realize that as he watched his friend open up the backpack he’d brought along. There was a lot of things in there, bottles and containers and books all rattling around as he shuffled through them. They had to be good for something, all the miscellaneous jars of honey and flower petals kept in pristine glass vials. With a quiet little “aha!” Geoff pulled back and proudly held out-

“Carrot seeds?”

“Yeah.” Obviously Pattillo, get with the program here. “You have one bunnycomb, yeah? So you just need one more. And these little fuckers love carrots. Plant ‘em, and once they grow, you should start seeing visitors.”

“And those are?”

“Untamed piñatas.” Because obviously. Again, Geoff spoke like he was talking to a child, and Jack might have been offended if not for his genuine curiosity. “Piñata want to be part of a garden. It makes them beyond happy. Visitors just look sad. You’ll know when you see one.”

Alright then. Task one: Grow carrots and get bunnies.

“So, I just grow carrots, and then the bunnies come. What, like, do I just keep repeating that?”

“Not really the way it works.” Shit. “Once you’ve got two of a kind, you’ll stop getting visitors. I think it’s a territory thing, but I’m not sure.”

“So I can only have two of a kind?” There goes the bunny farm idea. For some reason, that made him a little sad. It’d be kinda cute to have a whole garden of the little guys.

“Well, not quite, but I’ll let Lindsay teach you that one later.”

Lindsay, more people he didn’t know. Sounds like if he stuck around long enough, he’d have his fair choice of friends to make. And some small part of him was excited at the possibility. He wasn’t unpopular back home. Most of the people he knew there would say he was a good guy, nice to drink with. But he’d known them his whole life. Like everything else here, the excitement came from the newness. There were new people, ones who didn’t have a long history to look back. People to cultivate friendships with based on who he is now rather than who he’d always been. “Is she also conveniently out of town?”

“No, I was thinking we could go snag her for lunch actually,” Geoff said with a smile in his voice. “She and Michael are eager to meet you.”

…

Nothing could have prepared him for the Joneses.

They lived in a small house near the center of town, attached to the top of a shabby storefront. The sign was faded, the paint chipping away, but Geoff assured him that “The Jones’ Family Boutique” was as good as anything he’d find in the big city. Just like everything else, there were faint patterns in the paint, breaking up the monotony. And it was sunshine yellow, or had been at one time, with bright accents of orange and red. If it could get cleaned up, it’s be one cute place.

The owner, however, was far from cute. He was a bear of a man, or really, a man-bear. He wasn’t big, not nearly as tall Jack or Geoff, more lean muscle then anything. Like Geoff, he wore a mask that covered his full face. But where Geoff was some deep purple crow, Michael was a sturdy-looking brown bear, rings of yellow around the eye sockets that matched the paint outside. And instead of feathers, Jack could see the pieces of thick paper, just like the bunnycomb back home. Maybe that was the thing. They looked like piñata, all dressed up like that.

Lindsay was softer, but no less strange. Her mask was made up of feathers too, with a long bill and bright green coloring. A duck of some sort, if he had to guess. It looked vibrant where her fiery red hair fell around it. Her patterns weren’t as subtle as the others. Every piece of clothing she wore was bright and colorful and so uniquely her that Jack couldn’t help but think no one else in the world would ever look the same as her.

T hey ended up upstairs, in a comfortable kitchen with a big window staring out onto the main street. No one was out there, and they hadn’t seen a single soul on the entire walk over. Geoff was right, and Jack kinda hated to admit it. The town was dying, dried up and falling apart. Surely his presence couldn’t be enough to fix everything, could it? It was too much to assume so. He wasn’t so prideful as to think he could single-handedly make the town alive again.

But he was kind enough to at least try his hardest.

“So you’re the poor fuck who finally took Geoff’s garden.” The way Michael said it, it wasn’t a question. And god, this kid was blunt, harsh with every word. But soft in the way he leaned closer to Lindsay over their meal, how his fingers tangled in hers absent-mindedly. They hadn’t been married long, Geoff had mentioned earlier. Happiest thing to happen in a long time. And Jack wasn’t really jealous, but the way that they stared too long at the other, or inched towards one another did weird things to his heart. Made him almost want something like that for himself.

“Be nice Michael,” Geoff cautioned over the rim of his cup. Come to think of it, he was the only one of the three to be eating. The couple still hadn’t touched their plates, or made any move to do so. Geoff had his mask tilted up again, just enough for Jack to see the bottom of his face. Stubbly short beard, a crooked little tilt to his lips that made him look like he was up to no good. Not that Jack as staring. Certainly not.

Michael scoffed, leaned back and crossed his arms. “I am being nice. I’m trying to make conversation with the guy you said we ‘just had to meet.’”

Lindsay snorted and Geoff muttered something Jack couldn’t quite catch. The older man flicked a piece of his sandwich crust across the table, and Michael swore as it landed square in his lap.

While they bickered, Lindsay took the opportunity to swoop in. “So how’re you liking it here?”

“It’s weird,” he replied, not even trying to hide the confusion in his voice. “I’m learning a lot, I guess.”

“Piñata Island is a weird place,” she shrugged, a good-natured chuckle in her voice. “Gav had trouble adjusting too when he first got here.”

“So I’m not the first new guy to just show up?” That was…actually a little reassuring. Someone else would understand where he was coming from.

Lindsay nodded, the feathers on her mask fluttering. “I’ll get you two together when he gets back. He practically lives here.” She rolled her eyes, but there wasn’t anything angry in her words. Fond, maybe.

“Thanks a lot,” he replied honesty, and he could very easily imagine her smiling behind all the feathers. The other two were still bickering beside them, completely ignoring the conversation next to them. “So Geoff says I’m the only gardener in town.”

“Yup,” her reply was oddly chipper. “Michael runs the store here, but you and I should be seeing a lot more of each other as you progress.”

“And that means?”

" I’m the mother-fucking stork baby!” And boy howdy did she sound proud of it.

“…What?”

“Alright, here’s the deal. Say you’ve got two whirlms-”

“I’ve got what?”

“Whirlms, stay with me here. You’ve got two whirlms, but you want to get another one. What’s the problem?”

Just like Geoff said this morning. “I can’t get another to visit if I’ve already got two. Something about territory or some shit, I don’t really know.”

" It’s good!” She cheered, voice high and delighted. Much better than Geoff treating him like a kid. “So you can’t get another that way. What do you do? You call up Lindsay Jones and we get those little guys married.”  

And she’d lost him again. “Married?”

“The only way you can get another whirlm is to get the other two to romance. And when they romance, I come in with an egg and we jump start their happy little whirlm family.”

" Like a piñata matchmaker.”

“Exactly! And I mean, it gets harder the more complex the piñata is. With a whirlm, all you need is a house. But some piñata need certain plants, and so much water, and it’s a whole thing.”

“I’ve got a bunnycomb. What do they need?”

“They’re easy! Just gotta get the little guy a house and a couple of daisies. Then you won’t be able to stop them from multiplying!”

A house for the bunny. Easy enough.

“And I can get houses from…?”

The boys stopped arguing next to them at some point, probably when Lindsay started gesturing wildly with her hands. Geoff answered for her. “Matt can build you one. We can go up in a couple days and sort that out. You still need to actually get a second one first.”

Right. Task one: Grow carrots and get bunnies. Task two: Babies. 

“You know what else you can do soon?” Jack pulled his brows together in confusion at Michael’s words. He thought he was doing fairly well, starting to get the hang of things. Running a garden sounded fairly straight-forward, and Lindsay seemed on board with the whole “whirlm marriage” thing. And anything he didn’t know yet, Geoff was willing and ready to help. So what was left?

“You can get a mask. I don’t know about where you came from, but decent folk don’t just walk around naked like that. Put some goddamn clothes on!”

Welp. Task three: Stop being publicly indecent. 


	5. Chapter 5

He hadn’t gotten a mask yet, didn’t even know where to start with that one. Michael was the only one who seemed outwardly upset by it, and Geoff hadn’t made a huge deal of it yet. So it wasn’t an immediate issue. Surely Geoff would let him know if he was too indecent to go around polite company.

What he had gotten to was the actual garden. He spent the next couple of days by himself, just cleaning the place up. Simple things, things he’d done back home a million times before. He ripped up all the old fencing, and the rotten wood came apart easily enough. He wasn’t quite sure where to dump it all, or if any part of it was worth salvaging. Back home, they’d probably just burn it all. But it was too god damn hot to even think about that. Even just stepping outside made him feel sticky with sweat. Too humid for his tastes, but it wasn’t forever.

He could do this.

He stacked the old wood by the side of the house, and he made a mental note to ask Geoff next time he popped up. There were a couple weird structures too as he started really getting into things. They had to be part of the piñata houses, colors faded and worn away over time. There was even one little scrap with the last remnants of a painting on it, formally bright blue and white. The last little bit of the bunnycomb house. That’d be the first thing Jack would have built here; his little buddy would need his own home.

It took a whole day to clean out the fencing and the buildings and the broken fragments of statues. Jack passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow, and he slept hard until the sun leaked through his window the next morning. He was a little sore, his old life being more geared towards lighter farming then hard labor. But he could get used to this. He didn’t exactly have a choice; there were people relying on him.

That morning was spent weeding. And weeding sort of meant pulling up most of the grass and pre-existing foliage. It all had to go, as much as he hated to admit it. Dry and dead and so easy to pull up from the ground. There was a wheelbarrow in a shed to the side of the house, along with a set of basic tools. The shovel had seen better days, the head all rusty and the handle mostly just a big splinter. But it got the job down, and he added the dead plants next to the wood pile. Something about composting, although he wasn’t sure if that was right. Surely it’d be in the books somewhere. He’d look later that night, where it got too dark to keep working and he was pretty sure he’d gone two shades darker because of the dirt.

The shed had some big sacks of fertilizer too, and Jack spent the next morning mixing that with the floor of the garden. Lots of water too, and thank god for the well close at hand. By noon, the place looked completely different. Not good, not yet, but better. A blank slate and Jack really could see how good the old place could look. Plenty of room to work with, now that everything was flat and even. Room for a vegetable patch next to the house, and plenty of spots for flower beds. Especially around his bunnycomb house, which he still needed to do. Tomorrow he could find whoever this Matt person was and see how much it’d cost to build. For now, the little fellow was more than welcome to stay in the main house, so long as he didn’t make a huge mess. They hadn’t yet, and Jack couldn’t help the sunshine he felt every time he saw them dozing on the lumpy old couch.

He planted the grass seeds that afternoon, made sure to water everything and give it the best start he could provide. Grass was easy, wasn’t it? Most of the garden was grassed, everything except a square for veggies and the space around the pond. The nasty, gross pond he pretty much decided needed filled in and restarted. It was pathetically small, and the bunnycomb avoided even going near it. Tomorrow’s project, after finding Matt.

Tonight was carrots.

He could grow carrots. He could grow just about anything if he put his mind to it. Wheat, potatoes, turnips, you name it. It’d been his whole life back up North. A family farm, something sturdy that kept them and their neighbors fed. It was simple, and so soul-crushingly boring, and he kind of had to wonder if that’s what this would turn into after a while. If the Island would lose its spark and wonderment and he’d be left with that nagging voice in the back of his head that said there was something better out there still.

But he couldn’t think about that, because a lovely blue bunny was trilling excitedly by his side as he gently scooped dirt over the seeds. Like it knew what he was doing for it, or knew what would grow out of those tiny little seeds. He paused to scratch behind its ears, and it nuzzled at his hand. He’d have to name it, there was no way around it at this point. That silly creature had immediately stolen his heart and it deserved a name. He regarded it a moment, stared into its wide eyes. Something would come to him eventually, but it had to be perfect.

Maybe he shouldn’t have been so focused on his piñata, because as soon as there was a voice behind him, he jumped a good foot in the air.

“Hey man, whatcha got there?”

Jack spun around, and at this point he really shouldn’t have expected to see someone’s face. The mask was the same papier mache as everyone else’s, this time faintly patterned with thick stripes of yellow and orange. The thing that stood out were the eyes. Or rather the eye stocks. Tall stocks, bright blue at the ends, held a pair of fake green eyes staring off in opposite directions. There was to have been actual eye holes somewhere, but Jack was a little too caught up in everything to think to look that closely.

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m Alfredo.” He held his hands up, and Jack realized the shovel in his hands was raised threateningly. “Here, take a seed, and don’t hit me with your spade.”

He reached behind him into the side pocket of his backpack. His backpack which really kind of looked like a swirly blue shell. A snail! That’s what he was.

There was a little brown sack in his hand, and he carefully emptied some of its contents into his other palm. And sure enough, they were a whole bunch of seeds, various colors and sizes and Jack just stared at him. Alfredo stared back, or at least, he probably was, because no one was moving and things were really quiet between them. Awkward.

“I’m not going to hit you,” Jack said, lowering his shovel slightly. “You just scared me. How the hell did you get in here?”

Alfredo looked around, and yeah, that was probably dumb. There wasn’t any semblance of a fence around anymore, just a big square of dirt and one half-dead tree. All he had to do was walk in.

“Don’t, uh, don’t answer that.” Jack tried again. “What are you doing here?” Yes, much better.

“Fuck man, I just stopped in to say hi. I didn’t think you were gonna freak out on me here.” The stranger tucked his little brown sack away, still holding a handful of seeds out to Jack. “You gonna take these or what?”

Jack took them, because manners, but he just sort of stared at them for a while. “Why are you giving me seeds?”

Alfredo sighed, and Jack was getting real sick of all these weird people and their weird habits and the infuriating way they seemed to just expect him to know all this crap. “It’s just what I do, alright? I’m the seed guy. I go out, I find ‘em, and I’ll share if you’re nice to me.”

He stared at the stranger for a long moment, silence stretching awkwardly between the two of them. “You’re the seed guy.”

“Look,” and crossed his arms in annoyance. “I got here late, alright? And all the good jobs were already taken.”

“So, seeds?”

“I mean, no. I tried some other shit, but this is just what stuck.” He shrugged, and his tall eye stocks wiggled. “I don’t really have to explain myself to you, do I? How about I just teach you about seeds and we go our separate ways?”

What could he say really? The island was a weird place full of weirder people.  _ Might as well get used to it _ , he told himself. He lowered his shovel some more, let the rusty end dig into the fresh dirt and stay there. He didn’t really need to learn about seeds; they weren’t exactly rocket science. Plant them, water them, give them some sun and some general care, and boom! Lush and thriving garden.

“Alright, teach me about seeds then.”

“Great.” He took a deep breath, and then he started talking faster than Jack could keep up with. “Piñata Island has some fuck up dirt, if you haven’t noticed. Things tend to grow really fast here, and they grow well.” And yeah, Jack had seen that. The grass he planted just hours ago had already taken, little tufts of green peeking out around him. “By tomorrow night, you’re entire plot should be covered in grass. And those carrots should be done too.”

“It takes longer than that to grow a good carrot,” Jack scoffed, because he knew carrots.

Alfredo, however, knew the island. “Maybe where you’re from. But there’s something about this place that just makes plants grow super crazy fast. You’ll have your first harvest tomorrow, and you’ll have to keep replanting to keep up.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

He shrugged again, and his goofy eyes wobbled. “So? It doesn’t have to make sense. That’s just how it goes here. And you’ll want to actually plant them too. If you tuck a seed in a hole, it makes it happy. Happy plants are healthy plants. Healthy plants will get bigger results, and I’m sure you could get a couple extra coins out of it from Geoff if you sell it.”

“Happy plant, happy piñata?”

“Pretty much,” he nodded, and then pointed over to the tree in the corner of the garden. He hadn’t quite gotten around to dealing with it yet, and he figured he’d probably just have to cut the poor thing down. It was skinny as a rail, barely any leaves anywhere on its thin branches. “And for god’s sake, water your plants. They’ll shrivel up and die otherwise.”

“That tree is dead.”

“It’s really not though. Its thirsty, and it could use some fertilizer, but it’s not dead.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I get that,” and shit, he actually sounded annoyed. “I know you’re new here and everything, and maybe things were different from where you came from, but you need to stop. You don’t know how things work yet, and that’s fine, I get it. It takes a while to get on your feet, and this place can be stupid weird at times. But you just gotta trust us on some things. I know seeds, and I know plants, and you just need to listen.”

Part of Jack wanted to be deeply offended at the outburst, and part of him kinda agreed. Clearly, he didn’t know shit about this place. And clearly it didn’t play by the same logic he’d always followed. And clearly there were people here who knew what they were talking about. This was their life after all. He was just new to it all. It was new and confusing and trying to forget an entire life’s worth of logic and reason was hard.

He took a deep breath, swallowed down any argument he had. “Alright, sorry.”

Alfredo blinked at him, or he thought he did. “Really? Just like that?”

“Yeah?”

He chuckled, and the mood shifted to something much more lighthearted. “You’re gonna be a lot of fun. Most of the other guys around here are assholes. I’m pretty sure Ryan still thinks he knows more than me.”

Jack didn’t know who that was, but he filed it away for a later time. “I mean, I can recognize when someone knows more than me. I’m just, I guess I'm still adjusting here.”

Alfredo nodded. “I don’t blame you. Not all of us are from here, and it’s a lot to take in at once. Just, keep at it, and know when to shut up and listen. Like right now, because I’ve got more to tell you about seeds.”

“Like?”

“Did you know the coconut is a seed?”

The lesson in horticulture lasted longer than he would have liked. He was already sore from a couple days of hard work, and it was dark as hell when they finally called it a night. They’d gone around the whole garden, and Alfredo talked about which seeds did well in which spot, how much sunlight everywhere got, and which fertilizers to use where. Because there was a lot of that shit to pay attention to if you wanted to make big, healthy plants. What kind of leaves are healthy and when a plant is too far to save and how a wide variety of plants would draw in a wide variety of piñata. Some wanted huge flower beds, and some wanted tons of fruit trees, and others wanted thick tall grass.

It was a lot, and he really hoped that it would all be in one of the journals somewhere or else he’d have to ask Alfredo to make him one.

He was half asleep on his feet when the other man finally started to leave. He didn’t head towards town, but rather off a little path to the other side. Said he had a house out there, said it was easier to find rare seeds away from the others. That, and it was just quieter away from them all. Jack didn’t know where exactly he was, but the thought of having a neighbor out there made him smile just a little. It felt a little less alone knowing he might just pop in some days.

He was about to close his front door, but he paused when he realized his little friend hadn’t followed him in. They were sitting off to the side, practically jumping in tight little circles. And they were happy, chirping and trilling excitedly at something just outside the garden limits. He wanted out, he could tell, but he wouldn’t move. It was like he didn’t want to leave the garden proper.

Jack followed their gaze, and he held his breath when he realized what he was looking at. Another bunnycomb hiding in the foliage, but this one wasn’t quite right. They weren’t blue, like his was. Same pattern, same shape, but they were black and white. They sniffed at him, eyes wide and scared and Jack tried to make himself seem small, which was a lot easier said than done. The bunnycomb shrank back, and he swore under his breath.

And just like that, they darted back into the forest and disappeared.

His bunnycomb stared after them, and Jack felt a pang in his heart. He’d really have to get serious on getting another one, especially after seeing how lonely his was. How long had they been the only piñata in the garden? And what had happened to all the others that had lived there? Geoff had said his dad was a master gardener, and there wasn’t anything he couldn’t entice in. So where had they all gone exactly?  _ More questions for next time _ , he thought. For now, he scooped up his bunnycomb and held it tight against his chest a moment. It wasn’t as happy as it normally was, but it snuggled up under his beard all the same.

“I can’t give you a friend tonight,” he said in a soft voice. “But I can give you a name if you’d like.”

He set the bunnycomb on the couch, knelt down so he was more on its level. It regarded him with big eyes, and he swore he saw understanding in them.

“You and I are a family now, and I’ve got a family tradition back from where I came from. It’s a family name, my middle name even. And since you’re going to be a Pattillo, you should probably have it too. So if you’d like, would you want to be a Shannon too?”

The bunny trilled again, louder than ever, and it was definitely a very good thing. 


	6. Chapter 6

Alfredo was right. Jack spent the next couple of days tending to his plants, and god damn did they grow like weeds. The carrots were ready to harvest by the next day, and Shannon eagerly ate the one Jack offered him. The rest went in a little wicker basket by the edge of his plot, right where they’d seen the wild bunnycomb before. They hadn’t shown up yet, but Jack was confident they would. In the meantime, he planted more carrots and hoped for the best.

He also poured half a bag of fertilizer around the base of his tree and absolutely soaked it. There hadn’t been any rain yet, so it was a whole bunch of long trips back and forth between the well to keep it wet. And that sucker drank! It was like every five minutes Jack was running back for more water. But it was worth it. Already there were dark green leaves sprouting, and more spindly branches reaching out towards the sun. It certainly wasn’t the dead little thing Jack had walked up on that first day.

The grass was lush and bright and Shannon took to bouncing around in it happily. And Jack was more than happy with the results. Alfredo stopped in again, gave him a couple more seeds and regarded everything with a careful eye. A few more tips, and the reminder that happy seeds mean happy plants, and he was off again into the wilds. Occasionally, in the middle of the night, Jack had caught him again, pacing along the garden edge, his weird eye stocks jiggling with each step. But he was harmless, and he’d leave seeds in spots that needed plants, so he really couldn’t complain. Just another oddity that was the island.

There were flowers budding in his flower bed, and it was a constant fight to keep Shannon out of it. The bunnycomb had eaten the first batch the second they bloomed, and spend the rest of the day bouncing off the walls. Geoff was over, a care package dragged in a wagon behind him. The two men were working on new fencing, despite Jack’s insistence that he could do it just fine on his own,  _ thank you very much.  _ But he hadn’t listened, and Jack wouldn’t say it out loud, but he rather liked having someone working next to him.

And Geoff just made everything brighter around him. The heat wasn’t as bad, and the work wasn’t as hard, and his cheeks kinda hurt a little from smiling. But what was even better was hearing Geoff laugh, loud and obnoxious and free. It was like sunshine.

They were both sat in the grass, a bucket of white paint between them, turning the boring brown wood into that stereotypical white picket look. Well, that was the plan at least. Jack had his side painted pristine, even coats and Geoff…

“Are you drawing piñata on my fence?”

The older man looked up sheepishly, those blue-grey eyes wide and frantic at being caught. There were little drawings everywhere. A bunnycomb next to some sort of giant-eared mouse. A parrot with a huge beak and a lion with a mighty, full mane. And so many more, scattered here and there. They weren’t good, not by any means, but they made something settle in Jack.

“Uh, no?”

Jack laughed, despite how bad he wanted to pretend to be mad. Because it was cute, and it made the fence special. It made the fence theirs.

He liked having Geoff around a lot actually.

Geoff was easy to talk to, even with all his oddities. There was genuine excitement in his eyes, in his voice, in the way he leaned forward with his whole body to get a good look at everything happening around him. And he seemed more than happy to help out in the garden. Hell, he’d gone through most of the flower bed planting little seeds here and there. Wild red poppies and brilliant bluebells and pale yellow buttercups. They made the older man smile, and Jack started to wonder why it was so easy to see it despite the mask. The way his shoulders relaxed, and his eyes sparkled, and he bent down carefully to inspect every little petal. 

Jack smiled, scooted a little closer to Geoff. He didn’t move away, even leaned a little closer to close the gap between them. And Jack took his brush easily, the other man giving no resistance when it was pulled from his tattooed hand. He watched quietly as Jack drew something next to the lion, another little bird he’d seen somewhere in the pages of his journals. There was a passage that had made him laugh when he found it, some scratchy handwriting next to a detailed drawing. 

When you see the Crowla, think less "dark, sinister, grave robber" and think more "garbage collector." It may stop that shiver tickling your spine.

The Crowla was by no means good, but it looked nice next to Geoff’s lion, so that was good enough for him. And Geoff laughed when Jack moved back and he got a good look at the thing. There was sunshine again, and Jack realized if he could make Geoff laugh every day, he absolutely would. 

“It’s me!” The older man exclaimed, staring down at the drawing happily. “You looked me up?

“I was just reading some of those books. Crowla just happened to pop up at one point.” He shrugged.

Geoff nodded, turned back to stare up at Jack with just the softest look in his eyes. Fond. Safe. “Well I love it.”

There was something about the look in his eyes that made Jack’s cheeks burn, and he was eternally grateful for the big bushy beard that hid half his face. Maybe his fluster wouldn’t be too noticeable. There wasn’t even a reason for it! He hadn’t said anything weird, hadn’t done anything strange. Just looked at him with the kindest, softest eyes he’d ever seen and  _ god he needed to stop. _

“I thought it was cute,” he managed, turning back to painting slightly shaking white lines on the fencing.

Geoff made a funny little noise at that, turned and decided that his hands were suddenly very interesting. Jack handed him his brush back, ignored the small way their fingers brushed together, ignored how quick his heart was beating. They went back to working, Geoff drawing more piñata and Jack trying desperately to keep them clean and pristine and protected. Not the whole fence had to be white, right?

It was close to noon by the time they called it quits, cleaned up and moved to the next project. Which for Geoff meant heading home and opening the shop finally. He had a business to run after all, and if piñata were coming back to town, the other guys would be needing supplies sooner or later. Better to get in the habit of working more now rather than later. 

And Jack had to go find Matt, ask about building Shannon his own little house. Not that having the little guy curling up next to him every night was a bad thing! But maybe a house would entice the new one to come it, at least visit the garden. They didn’t have to stay, but Shannon would be much happier if they did, and maybe that’d be enough to convince the little thing to move in.

“He’ll probably be up at Jeremy’s workshop,” Geoff warned before taking off down the beaten little path. “It’s a little ways out of town. I’ll walk with you there, if you’d like.”

Who was Jack to say no?

…

The house was off on the other side of town, set on top of a little hill. Thick, black smoke bloomed from the chimney, which was maybe not the best thing. The whole house looked like it was made of match sticks, old wood barely hanging on. It was amazing that it was standing at all. All the color had washed off, patches of faded purple and orange and yellow peeking through dirt and grime and rot. It was junk, and Jack really hated walking up and knocking on the door.

Maybe no one was home. Maybe Geoff was wrong and Matt was back at his shop, a good sturdy workshop that didn’t look like a strong wind could knock it down. Maybe he’d try again tomorrow, go home and focus on luring that bunnycomb into his garden. Maybe-

The door swung open, and at this point masks were no longer strange. The one in front of him was long-nosed and white. There were yellow swirls mixed in to purple patches. There were even a pair of little yellow-tipped ears. Jack had seen it in one of the journals back home. Badgesicle? Badgesicle.

“Hey buddy, shops closed today.” The man at the door made to close it, and Jack stuck a foot out to catch it. The Badgesicle startled, stared at him with big, angry brown eyes.

_ Remember, everyone here is an asshole. _

“I’m not here for you.” And the man tilted his head in confusion. “I’m looking for Matt and Geoff said he’s probably up here.”

The other guy paused, stared at him long and hard, as if working through some intense problems. Which this definitely wasn’t. There was nothing weird at all about a piñata gardener looking for the guy who made piñata houses. Perfectly reasonable.

The Badgesicle- Jerome? Jared? What had Geoff called him again? - let the door open slightly again. “You must be Jack then. No one else needs the builder.”

“That’s me. And you must be-“

“Jeremy,” he cut off before Jack had to make a guess, and thank god for that. “But everyone pretty much just calls me Lil J. You might as well too.” Finally, the door opened all the way, and Jack’s foot wasn’t being crushed anymore. The smell that leaked out of the house was awful, like burnt sugar. He kinda wished he had a mask to lessen the smell, or to hide the grimace he was sure he was wearing.

Jeremy clearly noticed. “Ah yeah, that’s a thing. Look, I’m working on something big here and it’s not right yet. I don’t wanna hear any shit about it.”

“Working on something?”

“Geoff didn’t tell you? I’m the tinkerer. I tinker shit.”

“You tinker shit.” Jack repeated, and maybe someday he'll find someone who just said what they did without dragging it out like this.

“Yeah. I take one thing, do a little hap hap to it, and I make it something else” He made a funny motion with his hands, and a bit of orange light pulsed in his palms. Magic, weak, but effective. Just a natural little gift some people were born with. Although tinkerer was a new title for it. Most people just called them magicians.

He shook his hands, and the light died out. “When I’m not working on stuff up here, I can give you a proper demonstration. There’s a couple things I can do to make catching piñata easier.”

He nodded, and Jeremy finally moved out of the way and led him into the main body of the house. And it wasn’t as bad inside. Still a piece of junk, but not nearly as structurally unsound as he’d thought. It was hideous in a new way though. Purple and orange everywhere, spirals of yellow mixed in to match his mask. He certainly had an aesthetic to stick to, it seemed.

“It’s lovely?” Jack said, and everyone knew he was lying. Jeremy shrugged, moved over to a big pot bubbling on the stove. It was full of something thick and red and nasty smelling. By the way he shook his head, whatever it was had obviously failed. Jack chose not to ask about that.

“Matt’s in the next room. Just go ahead and go in. I’ve gotta get this taken care of before it ruins my pot.”

The next room was just as bad, still a monstrosity of color. There was no way he actually thought all this looked good together, no possible way at all. It wasn’t his place to judge, lord knows his house wasn’t much better looking. But this? This was bad.

Matt didn’t match. Matt’s masked looked like a raccoon, except brown. And his little burglar mask was purple instead of black. He even had a big black nose and everything. It was kinda cute, in a weird way. The strange thing was that he didn’t dress like everyone else. No patterns and colorful outfit. He pretty much just wore a plain hoodie over a plain shirt. Like he wasn’t even trying. For some reason, that was worse than dressing like a piñata.

The builder had his back to Jack, slouched down in his chair and he fiddled with something in his hands. A candy, Jack thought, but he slipped it down his sleeve as soon as he heard Jack enter. Whatever it was, it was the same dark red as whatever was bubbling in the pot.

“So you’re the Jack everyone keeps talking about. It’s about time you found me.” Matt said, not even bothering to turn around. Like he was trying to be mysterious or something.

Jack just stared.

“You are Jack right?” There was a note of uncertainty in his voice, and he peeked ever so slightly over his shoulder.

He chuckled. “Yeah, that’s me. You’re Matt?” He nodded, and Jack continued when it was obvious he wasn’t going to speak again. “I need something built, and I’m told you’re the one to do it.”

“I build everything around here. You’re going to need to be more specific.”

“A bunnycomb house, if you can do that.”

“ _ If I can do that, _ ” he repeated quietly, as if offended by the statement. “I can build anything as long as you can pay for it.” Jack frowned, and Matt picked back up quickly. “Or, since it’s your first house, and the whole piñata things probably hasn’t taken off yet, I’ll cut you a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“I’ll build your house, and you catch me a horstachio.”

“A what?”

“A horstachio! You know, big, purple, likes apples a whole bunch?” And when Jack just continued to stare, he floundered. “Just look in one of those books you’ve got!”

“Why do you want a horstachio?”

The other man crossed his arms, and Jack would bet good money he was pouting underneath his mask. “Ryan won’t let me have one.”

“Is that it?”

“Pretty much,” he shrugged.

Jack signed, made a mental note to find out what a horstachio was and who the fuck this Ryan guy is. Because everyone and their dog was saying he was an asshole so there had better be a damn good reason for it. Maybe Geoff could tell him. 

“Alright, Matt, you’ve got yourself a deal.

…

Jack was home late. Matt had gone back with him, mapped out a nice place for the house to go. Next to the flower bed, with the little veggie patch nearby for good snacks. Plenty of sunlight, and as soon as the tree was tall and healthy, plenty of good shade. Most importantly, Jack could see it from his living room window. It gave him a little piece of mind at least. 

The moon was high above his head by the time he packed it all in. There was a little bit of cleaning to get everything ready, but they were in a good place to start tomorrow. Everything was eerily quiet at night. He expected to hear animals, like back home, but piñata were quiet creatures on their own. The wild ones never howled or barked or screamed out in the woods. And the wind didn’t rustle the trees or cry through the night or anything. Peaceful, if a little bit strange. Just another odd quality of the Island he’d adjust to in time.

Something cracked behind him, like a branch breaking underfoot and he spun around. It was probably just Alfredo, out again for his usual night collecting. 

It was a piñata, crouched low to the ground, breathing heavy and uneven as it paced slowly. A wild tail flicked back and forth, and even in the dark Jack could tell this was a huge creature. A long, powerful snout, strong legs, and occasionally the glint of sharp, white teeth. Jack swallowed, glanced quickly over to his bunnycomb next to the house. The creature across the way hadn’t seen him yet, and jack would be damned if he let this creature hurt his piñata.

Before he could move though, there was rusting, and something else emerged from the tree line. There was a figure who moved along the other end of the garden, carefully keeping just outside the border. They were taller, much too tall to be Alfredo. Bigger and wider and there weren’t any bouncing eye stocks to be seen. It was too dark for details, just a strange silhouette in front of the tree line as whoever this was moved to hover above the other piñata. 

Expect the eyes. He could see those perfectly.

Two red, glowing eyes stared out at him, caught Jack directly and refused to let go. They felt too dark, too much, and he desperately wanted to run back into the house, lock the door and never come out again. And then the piñata looked up too, and suddenly there was another set of eyes watching him. There was a growl, loud as it cracked the silence in half and Jack was more than ready to run. But the tall figure whistled, and the piñata curled dangerously around their legs, breathing heavy in the night air. 

And then they were gone, just as quickly as they had appeared. Back into the forest, and Jack didn’t stick around to see if they came back out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got impatient and posted this without really editing it. I'll fix any major issues that come up, but hopefully it isn't too bad!

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to have a good reason for this to exist. But it's mainly an idea my sister had that got waaay out of hand. So this is for her, and for anyone else who wants a really niche story. I'm not even that sorry.


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